I believe -- kids know how much to eat

Yes, I strongly believe it. If we ensure the right food items available, they eat just as much they want.

I see many mothers feeding aggressively to kids to the point that they throw up everything fed. I feel bad thinking from the kids' perspective. I know how the body feels throwing up after a full forced meal (thanks to morning sickness). Worst of it, the puke stench lasting for the whole day somewhere. So the kids might be going through the same.

If the kid has particularly less appetite, providing rich foods is an option. Packing required nutrition in less amounts. If the kid eats alright, then regular items should be good enough. Providing and most importantly exposing right foods is the best thing we as mothers should be doing.

Challenge is in identifying what kind of an eater is the kid, and then chalking up list of good healthy foods to be provided. This done, I think we need not bother about running behind them for food.

Before going any further, let me affirm that I am not able to follow what I said earlier keenly. It is a tough task, but at the same time I cannot run behind the kid forcing to eat; especially when the kid clearly indicates i-am-not-hungry-anymore.

Hunger is a basic instinct. Babies cry when hungry. Kids also express hunger - probably in different ways. Kids getting unreasonably cranky could actually be a strong indication of wanting some calories. We should respect their hunger and come to believe that they really know how much to eat. 

Plus, all this is not my wisdom. There's a famous saying in Andhra, kids even if they selectively pick up seven grains of rice and eat it themselves, it is equivalent to seven elephants strength. I sign off with this old wisdom.